Britain’s seven biggest lenders will have to show they can cope with a global economic slump triggered by a sharp slowdown in China and a crash in the eurozone in this year’s round of stress tests conducted by the Bank of England (BoE).

Activity in China’s factory sector likely contracted for a third straight month in March, according to a Reuters poll, reinforcing expectations that Beijing will have to step up policy easing to support economic growth that may be on the verge of dipping below 7%.